Song Review: GFriend – Time For The Moon Night | The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion

So far, 2018 has the unfortunate distinction of being the year where almost all of my favorite acts return with underwhelming title tracks. This trend has made it difficult to keep excitement up over the past couple of months. So many groups are abandoning the producers who crafted their winning sound in favor of ones that, quite frankly, just aren’t as skilled. GFriend are the latest to succumb to this issue. Time For The Moon Night (밤) is their first single without composers Iggy and Youngbae, and their gift for a mammoth hook is missed.

To be fair, Moon Night isn’t a bad song at all. In many ways, it feels like a return to form after last summer’s divisive Love Whisper and Summer Rain. The track pulls in those lush orchestral elements we’ve been missing since 2016’s superior Rough, drenching the instrumental in layers of strings. I just wish that much of the song didn’t feel so listless. A tighter structure, with a more clearly defined melody in the verses, would have made for a stronger end product. It feels as if we’re coasting this way and that without much purpose until we reach the chorus.

Fortunately, that chorus is pretty strong. It’s no Rough or Me Gustas Tu or Fingertip, but I appreciate how it takes its time to unfold and develop, rather than opt for a simplistic EDM-style structure the way so many of today’s songs do. Of course, that dramatic, anime-esque instrumental helps. I only wish the producers would have pushed even farther, injecting electric guitar and a more dynamic, uptempo beat. GFriend need another big dance track in their repertoire, and Moon Night could have transformed into something truly epic with a little tweaking. Even so, it’s a step back in the right direction for a group that once seemed unstoppable.

Hooks	8
Production	9
Longevity	9
Bias	8
RATING	8.5

15 thoughts on “Song Review: GFriend – Time For The Moon Night”

I feel like this desperately needed more of a bass-line, and, as you pointed out, more coherent verse melodies.

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I do agree that the song being a bit listless but i will say I was really happy with this “:return to form”. I didn’t want them to fall into it sounding like Summer Rain or Love Whisper. And maybe this is just me but Time for the Moon Night seems an attempt at growth from the girls. Less school girls more young adult. Just my two cents, the more i listen to it the more i like it i guess. I always appreciate your reviews.

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It almost feels like they ran out of time to finalize the production and just went with the best version they had so far. The song isn’t bad, but I can’t help but feel like it’s missing something when I listen to it, and as soon as I’m done, I forget what it sounded like. Nothing really sticks with you.

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When I first heard the song I couldnt catch the melody.
I felt it had a lot of dynamics and textures but nothing stood out and it needed a few listens to grow on me. I still feel its missing something, but I’m pretty content with it.

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Nick says:

April 30, 2018 at 9:54 pm

This is a pretty spot-on encapsulation of my feelings toward this song. It doesn’t knock my socks off in the way their best work does, but I’m content with it too. It gets better as it goes on, even if the verses still leave a lot to be desired.

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